Chapter 9.

Telephone and Telegraph. (At present time the basic provisions governing service of telephone and telegraph companies are contained in the individual tariff rules of the respective telephone and telegraph companies. The only rules of general application presently in force appear below.) Rule R9-1. Safety rules and regulations. Rule R9-2. Uniform system of accounts. Rule R9-3. [Rescinded]. Rule R9-4. Filing of telephone and telegraph tariffs and maps. Rule R9-5. 911 Emergency telephone number system. Rule R9-6. Link-up Carolina Connection Fee Subsidy Program. Rule R9-7. Procedures regarding requests for extended area service. Rule R9-8. Service objectives for regulated local exchange telephone companies and competing

local providers (CLPs). Rule R9-9. Financial and operating reporting requirements for telephone companies.

Rule R9-1. SAFETY RULES AND REGULATIONS. The current rules and regulations of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) entitled “National Electrical Safety Code” are hereby adopted by reference as the communication safety rules of this Commission and shall apply to all telephone utilities which operate in North Carolina under the jurisdiction of the Commission. (NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 5, 7/15/65; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 6, 11/4/68; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 89, 12/8/81; 4/9/84; 6/23/87; 12/5/89; 12/8/92; 1/7/97; 04/02/02.)

Rule R9-2. UNIFORM SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS. Effective January 1, 1988, the Uniform System of Accounts (USOA) for telephone companies as prescribed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on May 15, 1986, and all subsequent revisions thereto, are adopted by this Commission and shall be used by all telephone companies under its jurisdiction subject to the following exceptions and conditions unless otherwise ordered by the Commission: (1) All references to federal statutes, federal regulations, and other federal

documents are to be ignored or deleted because they are not applicable to the jurisdiction exercised by this Commission.

(2) Instead of telephone companies being divided into Class A and Class B categories, all companies shall be treated as Class A companies.

(3) Each local exchange carrier with nonregulated operations shall provide to the Public Staff two copies of its cost allocation plan or cost allocation practices relating to the allocation of joint costs between regulated and nonregulated operations. Subsequent updates and revisions shall be provided within 30 days of implementation.

(4) Each local exchange carrier shall provide the Public Staff with two copies of its list of accounts and subsidiary record codes by name and number together with a brief description of each. Subsequent updates and revisions shall be provided within 30 days of implementation.

(5) Accounting records shall be maintained in a manner such that a reasonable audit trail exists with respect to all affiliated company transactions. It is noted with respect to all future general rate increase requests and such other investigations as may be undertaken concerning affiliated company transactions that the Commission will require the utilities to provide the information now required by the Commission in its minimum filing requirements, Form P-1, pertaining to affiliated company transactions.

(6) The Public Staff shall maintain the Commission's official copies of the information required by Item Nos. 3 and 4 as set forth hereinabove.

(7) Filings made by the telephone companies pursuant to this rule shall be made with the North Carolina Utilities Commission addressed as follows: North Carolina Utilities Commission, Public Staff — Accounting Division, 4326 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4326.

(NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 8, 2/4/64; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 8, 1/17/66 (Second Supplemental Order); NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 98, 12/18/87; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 128, 04/10/00.)

Rule R9-3. RESCINDED BY NCUC DOCKET NOS. P-100, SUB 19; P-100, SUB 168, 4/09/10.

Rule R9-4. FILING OF TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH TARIFFS AND MAPS. (a) Definitions. — The term "tariff" as used herein means a publication containing rates, charges, rules and regulations of the telephone or telegraph public utility. The term "map" as used herein means a map which is used to define service and rates areas. (b) Requirements as to Size, Form, Identification, and Filing of Tariffs.

(1) All tariffs except maps shall be in loose leaf form of size eight and one-half inches by eleven inches and shall be plainly printed or reproduced on paper of good quality.

(2) Each regulated telephone utility in North Carolina shall have on file with the North Carolina Utilities Commission, for each exchange it serves a map of scale one inch equals one mile showing exchange service area, base rate area, and if any exist, rural zones. Said maps, when originally drawn, shall be made from current North Carolina State Highway Maintenance maps.

(3) A margin of not less than three-fourths inch without any printing thereon shall be allowed at the binding edge of each tariff sheet.

(4) Tariff sheets are to be numbered consecutively by section, sheet, and revision number. Each sheet shall show an effective date, a revision number, section number, sheet number, name of the company and the name of the tariff and title of the section in a consistent manner.

(5) When it is desired to make changes in the rates, rules, maps, or other provisions of the tariff, an official tariff filing shall be made to the North Carolina Utilities Commission addressed as follows: Public Staff — North Carolina Utilities Commission, Communications Division, 4326 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4326.

(c) Transmittal Letters. — Each tariff filing shall include a letter of transmittal (five copies). All explanations shall be made in such form as to be readily understood by persons not fully familiar with technical language. Each transmittal letter shall include:

(1) A list of sheets filed by section, sheet and revision. (2) A paragraph describing the type of filing (new service, change of

regulation, rate increase, rate reduction, etc.). (3) A paragraph or more explaining the reasons necessary and a full

explanation of each change, new offering, new regulation, etc., and details of operations of each new service.

(4) A paragraph giving a full explanation of the impact of each proposed change on existing subscribers.

(5) A paragraph giving the estimated gross revenue and net revenue that a new service will produce annually over a three-year period, explaining how the estimate was obtained.

[NOTE] Each tariff revision of wording, rearrangement, other changes, additions or deletions shall be explained in consecutive order in the transmittal letter in the sequence in which they appear.

Each tariff filing shall be treated as original in that all required information shall be submitted with each filing regardless if similar or identical information such as cost study data or technical data has been submitted with previous filings. Unrelated new service offerings shall not be included in the same tariff filing. Neither shall unrelated tariff changes be included in the same tariff filing. One copy of technical explanation, marketing data or other information necessary to describe the proposed additions or changes shall be included as a part of the tariff filing. (d) Cost Study Data. ─ Full cost data (2 copies) shall be submitted for each new or changed rate by any telephone utility with more than 12,500 access lines. If full cost data is not available, explanation should be given including the available data, the reason full data is not available and on what information the proposed rates are based. Any telephone utility with 12,500 or fewer access lines in service shall submit cost data or file a rate already on file by some other company in North Carolina. Should the latter choice be made, explanation shall be included as to the name of the company from whom the rates were copied and the tariff section, sheet and item number of the other company’s tariff. Supporting data and/or explanations of how dollar amounts appearing on cost studies were obtained shall be included. This subsection shall not apply to a telephone utility that is subject to price regulation unless cost study data (i) is requested by the Public Staff or the Commission; or (ii) is required to be filed in response to a complaint alleging anticompetitive conduct by the utility. (e) Notice of Change; Special Permission; Symbols. — Each tariff filing shall include new or revised tariff sheets (five copies) with notations in the right hand margin indicating each change made on these sheets. Notations to be used are (C) to signify change in regulation, (D) to signify discontinued rate or regulation, (I) to signify a rate increase, (N) to signify a new rate or regulation, (R) to signify a rate reduction, (T) to signify a change in text, but no change in rate or regulation. Sheets issued under new numbers are to be designated as original sheets. Sheets being revised should show the next number of revision from the existing sheet and should cancel the existing sheet. Any tariff filings to make changes of existing maps shall include three (3) copies of said map plus a location map so marked with the proposed changes indicated in red pencil in lieu of the right hand margin notation specified in the preceding paragraph. All tariff filings shall be received at the Commission offices at least 30 days before the date upon which they are to become effective, except as provided in G.S. 62-134, and except those tariff filings made in response to a Commission order. (f) Commission Order Tariff Filings. — Tariff filings made in response to an order issued by the North Carolina Utilities Commission shall include a transmittal letter stating that the tariffs attached are in compliance with the order, giving the docket number, date of the order, a list of tariff sheets filed and any other information necessary. The transmittal letter shall be exempt from all other requirements of subsection (c) above. Said tariff sheets shall comply with all rules in this Chapter and

shall include all changes ordered and absolutely no others. The effective date and/or wording of said tariffs shall comply with the ordering provisions of the order being complied with. (g) Availability of Tariffs. — Each telephone and telegraph utility shall make available to the public at each of its business offices within North Carolina all of its tariffs currently on file with the North Carolina Utilities Commission and its employees shall lend assistance to seekers of information therefrom and afford inquirers an opportunity to examine any of such tariffs without requiring the inquirer to assign any reason for such desire. Utilities shall not be required to furnish copies without charge. (h) Effective Date of This Chapter. — The rules of this Chapter shall be applicable to all tariff filings and maps filed on and after a date ten days subsequent to the adoption of this Chapter as a part of the Commission's Rules and Regulations. All maps on file shall be in compliance with Rule R9-4(b) (2) by April 1, 1974. Western Union Telegraph Company is exempt from the map requirements of this Chapter. (i) Compliance. — Any tariff filings filed with the Commission and found to be noncompliant with this Chapter shall be so marked and one copy shall be returned to the filing utility with a brief explanation advising in what way the tariff does not comply and advise that the Commission does not consider said tariff as having been filed. Record of any tariff filings returned for noncompliance with this Chapter shall be made in the Commission files. Full compliance with this rule shall not guarantee Commission approval or preclude requests for additional information or clarification. (NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 30, 1/15/73; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 75, 10/27/77; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 127, 4/21/94; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 128, 04/10/00; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 164, 04/24/08.)

Rule R9-5. 911 EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER SYSTEM. It is the policy of the Commission that regulated telephone companies shall make 911 emergency telephone service available to local governmental agencies upon reasonable terms and time schedules as prescribed in relevant orders of the Commission. Every telephone company shall notify the Commission within ten (10) working days of an official request from a local governmental authority for the availability costs and implementation dates for the 911 emergency telephone number in the exchange(s) of that authority's jurisdiction. The telephone company's response must be made to the inquiring authority within sixty (60) days. Notice of the inquiry and telephone company's response shall be filed with the Chief Clerk who shall provide copies to the Communications Division of the Public Staff and to the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, 911 Section. The implementation of the 911 service shall be further in accordance with the provisions of the Commission's modified order of October 19, 1979, in Docket No. P 100, Sub 48, Investigation of 911 Emergency Telephone Number. (NCUC Docket No. P 100, Sub 48, 7/27/79; NCUC Docket No. P 100, Sub 48, 10/19/79.)

Rule R9-6. LIFELINE AND TRIBAL LINK UP PROGRAMS

(a) Description of programs. (1) Lifeline service is a federally administered program providing a monthly

discount to qualifying low-income consumers for voice telephone service or broadband service.

(2) Tribal Link Up service is a federally administered program providing a discount to the customary charge for commencing telecommunications service to a qualifying consumer on Tribal lands.

(b) Obligations of local exchange companies. All local exchange companies designated as eligible telecommunications companies (ETCs) by the Utilities Commission in this State pursuant to Section 254(e) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 shall provide Lifeline and Link Up services on such terms as are set out in subsection (c), (d), and (e), and in the Orders of the Utilities Commission. All local exchange companies designated as ETCs shall submit such information to the Utilities Commission, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) as is necessary to fully implement the Lifeline and Link Up programs.

(c) Program eligibility.

In order to be eligible for assistance, a consumer must meet the eligibility requirements as set forth in 47 C.F.R. part 54, subpart E of the FCC’s rules.

(d) Verification of eligibility. The method for verification of the eligibility criteria set forth in (c) above shall be a national eligibility verifier. Until the national eligibility verifier has been established to verify eligibility in North Carolina, the verification method will be self-certification by the recipients of the eligible programs.

(e) Support. The support provided to consumers through the Lifeline and Link Up programs is set forth in 47 C.F.R. part 54, subpart E of the FCC’s rules.

(NCUC Docket No. P 100, Sub 95, 9/30/87; 4/4/89; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 133f, 12/23/97; 2/3/98; 6/1/98; 07/27/99; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 133f, 3/2/10; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 133f, 5/03/12; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 133f, 6/25/12; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 133f, 10/27/2016.)

Rule R9-7. PROCEDURES REGARDING REQUESTS FOR EXTENDED AREA SERVICE.

(a) Purpose. This rule is intended to further the public interest through the establishment of a set of consistent general guidelines, standards, practices, and procedures for the filing, acceptance, and processing of requests for extended area service (EAS) in North Carolina. (b) Definitions. For purposes of this rule, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Extended Area Service. — EAS is a switching and trunking arrangement which provides for nonoptional, unlimited, two way, flat rate calling service between two or more telephone exchanges, provided at either the applicable local exchange rate or the applicable local exchange rate plus an EAS increment rather than at the toll message rate.

(2) Incremental EAS Cost Study. — An incremental EAS cost study shall be deemed to include all additional incremental equipment costs applicable to the EAS arrangement plus those embedded costs supporting investments which have previously been used to provide toll services, but which will, upon approval of EAS, be utilized for EAS rather than toll service. Lost toll revenues will generally not be considered a proper cost to be included in an incremental EAS cost study.

(3) Community of Interest Factor (CIF). — Number of customer calls (messages) divided by the total number of local customer lines/trunks. For the purpose of Rule R9-7, customer calls shall consist of: 1-plus and operator-assisted MTS toll calls and optional toll calling plan calls generated over Key, PBX trunks, Centrex trunks, ESSX trunks, ISDN, simple business and residence customer lines/trunks.

(4) Percentage Making Calls (PMC). — Number of access lines making calls divided by the total number of local customer lines/trunks.

(c) Community of Interest, Public Hearings, and Geographical Boundaries. (1) Any entity or group requesting the Commission to open a formal docket to

investigate the need for EAS in a particular area shall be required to demonstrate to the initial satisfaction of the Public Staff and subsequently to the Commission that the subscribers in each affected exchange have demonstrated broad based support for the requested EAS. Such support may be demonstrated by resolutions and letters from civic groups, institutions, local governments, elected officials and petitions signed by the affected subscribers. The Commission retains the flexibility to determine whether the demonstrated support is sufficient to justify further pursuit of the request for EAS.

(2) The Commission may hold a public hearing, if necessary, to consider issues such as whether the public interest is sufficient to proceed, whether a poll should be conducted, and to determine the applicable rate increases for EAS at each exchange. The Commission may decide to conduct an EAS poll of affected subscribers without first holding a public hearing

where the particular facts and circumstances of a case do not necessitate a hearing prior to polling.

(3) While consideration may be given to the geographical nature of an EAS proposal, it is not appropriate to limit EAS arrangements based solely on geographical location. So long as a significant community of interest and support for the EAS can be demonstrated, the Commission will consider each request for EAS on a case-by-case basis. A chief consideration in any request for EAS is the public interest and need for EAS, which is not necessarily constrained by geographical boundaries.

(d) Toll Calling Studies. (1) All proposals for EAS shall be accompanied by toll calling studies

concerning the affected exchanges. (a) Toll calling studies shall be for thirty-day periods, unless

circumstances are shown to warrant a longer study period and shall be broken down into residential and business categories. Toll calling studies shall include information concerning community of interest factors (CIFs) and percentage of access lines making one or more calls (percentage making calls or PMCs) in the relevant time period.

(b) Upon request from the local exchange company, an interexchange carrier shall provide appropriate toll calling information for affected interLATA routes.

(c) When a telephone membership corporation (TMC) is involved in an EAS proposal, the TMC shall be requested to provide toll calling studies.

(2) Absent special circumstances, an EAS proposal shall generally not be approved for polling unless all the affected exchanges in the proposal meet the relevant CIF and PMC standards on at least a one-way basis as set out below: (a) For intra-county, county-seat EAS proposals, a CIF of 1.0 or

greater in the residential category or a CIF of 2.0 or greater in the residential and business categories combined.

(b) For other intra-county EAS proposals, a CIF of 2.0 or greater in the residential category or a CIF of 2.5 or greater in the residential and business categories combined and a PMC of 25% or greater.

(c) For inter-county EAS proposals between exchanges with a common boundary, a CIF of 2.5 or greater in the residential and business categories combined and a PMC of 45% or greater.

(d) For inter-county EAS proposals between exchanges without a common boundary, a CIF of 3.0 or greater in the residential and business categories combined and a PMC of 50% or greater.

(3) Notwithstanding Rule R9-7(d)(2), the Commission may approve, disapprove, narrow, or limit an EAS proposal for polling if special circumstances require such action.

(e) Cost Studies.

(1) It is appropriate to utilize cost studies in order to establish the applicable local rate increases which should apply to requests for EAS if ultimately approved by the Commission. Except under unusual and extenuating circumstances, cost studies generally will not be required for those telephone companies who have had EAS matrix plans approved by the Commission. Past Commission practice in developing applicable rate increases has generally allowed consideration of only the incremental equipment costs necessary to provide the EAS in question. As a general rule, the Commission has not authorized telephone companies to consider lost toll revenues in developing applicable EAS charges. The Commission will continue to follow this general policy in future EAS cases unless it can be clearly demonstrated in a particular case that a failure to consider lost toll revenues will in fact result in serious financial distress to the LEC and, in turn, to its remaining local customers. However, in all cases, the toll revenue losses may be computed and included in the analysis as information to the Commission.

(2) In EAS cases involving non matrix telephone companies, the affected company or companies will be required to conduct cost studies based upon incremental costs exclusive of toll losses. Such incremental cost studies shall be deemed to include all additional incremental equipment costs applicable to the EAS arrangement plus those embedded costs supporting investments which have previously been used to provide toll services, but which will, upon approval of EAS, be utilized for EAS rather than toll service. The Commission recognizes that these latter specified facilities will have generally been included in a previously established test year period and that rates were likely set to produce revenues necessary to cover expenses and capital costs associated with these facilities. Therefore, to the extent that there would be a double recovery of expenses associated with these facilities, a deferred account shall be established to eliminate such recovery and the monies placed in the deferred account shall be returned to the general body of ratepayers, with interest, upon further order of the Commission.

(f) Matrix Rating Plans. For telephone companies which have an approved EAS matrix plan in effect, the applicable customer charge(s), which shall be used for polling purposes, will be determined by application of said matrix plan. (g) Regrouping Charges. A cost study based on incremental costs as defined above will be the basis for any rate increase(s) associated with implementation of EAS for non matrix companies. At the time of the next general rate case following the implementation of EAS, the affected exchange(s) will be placed in the proper rate group(s) and a determination of whether the EAS differential(s) should be eliminated will be made at that time. If applicable, the customer notice used for EAS polling purposes shall state that a regrouping charge of the given amount will apply at the time of the company's next general rate case. (h) Polling Procedures.

(1) When the Commission determines that the public interest and need for EAS involving two exchanges is dominant in one direction, which is generally the case when the EAS request involves a large exchange and a small exchange, the Commission will determine on a case by case basis whether to poll both exchanges. In cases where only one exchange is polled, the Commission will make a determination based on the results of the poll of that one exchange. As a general rule, the EAS will be approved if a simple majority of the ballots returned by subscribers vote in favor of the proposal. In cases where only minimal or de minimis rate increases would result to subscribers in the large exchange, the Commission will impose those charges on customers in the larger exchange without a poll if the polling results of customers in the other exchange are favorable.

(2) In cases where dominant interest does not exist at one exchange, both exchanges will generally be polled using rate increases based upon incremental costs as described in subparagraph (e) of this rule, except where the increase in one of the exchanges is minimal or de minimis, in which case no poll will be conducted in that exchange, but the EAS rate increase shall apply at the time the EAS, if approved, is implemented.

(3) In proposals where EAS is being considered among several exchanges, the Commission will determine, in its discretion, whether or not all or only some of the affected exchanges will be polled and what rate increases shall apply at the time the EAS, if approved, is implemented.

(4) The customer notice which is used in conjunction with an EAS poll shall specify that if the subscriber wishes to have a voice in the decision, he must return his marked ballot.

(i) Polling Results. EAS polling results shall be reported broken down by residential and business categories. All decisions regarding EAS poll results will be based on the valid ballots returned. A subscriber shall be entitled to as many votes as that subscriber has access lines. Generally, a simple majority of those valid ballots returned voting in favor of the EAS will constitute a positive vote for EAS as to that exchange. An EAS proposal will be approved if each of the polled exchanges is in favor of the EAS proposal. When two or more exchanges are polled and mixed results occur, the approval or disapproval of the request will be based on the individual poll results as well as other factors that may be reflective of any unique circumstances affecting the request, including valid public policy considerations such as economic development and county-seat calling. In making a final decision, the Commission will exercise its discretion in considering all relevant factors. (NCUC Docket No. P 100, Sub 89, 10/28/87; 12/16/87; 5/5/92; 3/25/93; 6/14/93.)

Rule R9-8. SERVICE OBJECTIVES FOR REGULATED LOCAL EXCHANGE TELEPHONE COMPANIES AND COMPETING LOCAL PROVIDERS (CLPs).

(a) Service Objectives. Each regulated local exchange telephone company and CLP shall perform and provide service in accordance with the following uniform service objectives:

Measure No. Description Objective 1 Intraoffice completion rate 99% or more

2 Interoffice completion rate 98% or more

3 EAS transmission loss 95% or more between 2 and 10 dB

4 EAS trunk noise 95% or more 30 dBrnc or less

5 Operator "0" answertime 90% or more of calls answered within 10 seconds or ASA of 6 seconds

6 Directory assistance answertime 85% or more of calls answered within 10 seconds or ASA of 6 seconds

7 Business office answertime ASA of 30 seconds

8 Repair service answertime ASA of 30 seconds

9 Initial customer trouble reports

4.75 or less per 100 total access lines

10 Repeat reports 1.0 report or less per 100 total access lines

11 Out-of-service troubles cleared within 24 Hours

95% or more

12 Regular service orders completed within 5 working days

90% or more

13 New service installation appointments not met for Company reasons

5% or less

14 New service held orders not completed within 30 days

0.1% or less of total access lines

(b) This rule shall not preclude flexibility in considering future circumstances that may justify changes in or exceptions to these service objectives. (c) Force Majeure. A company may seek a waiver of part or all of Rule R9-8 due to force majeure. To request a waiver, a company should file adjusted data and unadjusted data along with its waiver request. In order to secure Commission approval,

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the waiver request should clearly demonstrate that (1) the force majeure event was sufficiently serious and unusual to warrant adjustment of the monthly service quality statistics, including a detailed description of the adverse consequences of the event on the ratepayers’ service and the company’s facilities; (2) to the extent reasonably foreseeable, the company prudently planned and prepared in advance for such emergencies; (3) despite these plans and preparations, and the best efforts of the company personnel before, during, and after the event, failures to satisfy the service objectives could not reasonably have been avoided; and (4) the extent and nature of the adjustments requested are appropriate for the circumstances. The Commission shall grant waiver requests if the Commission finds that all four criteria have been met. (d) Reporting Requirement. Each regulated local exchange telephone company and CLP actually providing basic local residential and/or business exchange service to customers in North Carolina shall file a report each calendar quarter with the Chief Clerk of the Commission detailing the monthly results of its compliance with Measures 5 – 14 as set forth in this Rule. The report may be filed by either (1) submitting an original, three (3) hard copies, and two electronic copies in Excel to the Chief Clerk, or (2) submitting the report electronically with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Commission Rule R1-28, the Chief Clerk’s Office shall forward one hard copy and one electronic copy to the Public Staff – Communications Division. Companies should reflect the company name as certified by the Commission. Additionally, the hard copies and electronic copies on diskette should be clearly marked with the company name, the docket number, and the reporting period. The Commission will specify the format of the report. Companies not providing service in North Carolina or not providing basic local residential and/or business exchange service to customers in North Carolina shall file a letter, in lieu of a report, each quarter specifying why a report does not have to be filed. Each regulated local exchange company and CLP shall report its performance results for the following six objectives on an exchange level:

• Initial Customer Trouble Reports (Measure 9); • Repeat Reports (Measure 10); • Out-of-Service Troubles Cleared Within 24 Hours (Measure 11); • Regular Service Orders Completed Within 5 Working Days (Measure 12); • New Service Installation Appointments Not Met for Company Reasons

(Measure 13); and • New Service Held Orders Not Completed Within 30 Days (Measure 14).

[COMMISSION NOTE: After one year, companies may petition the Commission for exemption from the requirement to report these results on an exchange level.] Each regulated local exchange company and CLP that uses separate call or service centers or service representatives to provide service to their business and residential customers shall file performance results for the following measures for the following categories of customers: (1) all North Carolina business1 customers; (2) all North Carolina residential customers; and (3) all North Carolina customers:

1 Companies are not required to report statistics for business customer groups that are not served by service or repair centers, but on an individual account basis. In the first report under the new rule, the company should note what business customer groups are excluded. If the company should thereafter change what business groups are

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• Business Office Answertime (Measure 7); • Repair Service Answertime (Measure 8); • Out-of-Service Troubles Cleared Within 24 Hours (Measure 11); • Regular Service Orders Completed Within 5 Working Days (Measure 12); • New Service Installation Appointments Not Met for Company Reasons

(Measure 13); and • New Service Held Orders Not Completed Within 30 Days (Measure 14).

If a company’s residential call or service centers handle the calls or service for small businesses of five lines or less, the company may include the statistics for these small businesses in the residential customer category, but must notate this inclusion and verify that there is no preferential treatment given to either class of customers in its quarterly report. Companies are not required to report statistics for customer groups that are not served by call or service centers, but on an individual account basis. In the first report following the effective date of the amendments to this rule, each company should note which customer groups are excluded from the report and notify the Commission if customer groups that are excluded should change. [COMMISSION NOTE: After one year, companies may petition the Commission for exemption from the requirement to separately report residential, business, and combined residential and business results for these six objectives.] The quarterly report shall be filed no later than twenty (20) days after the last day of the quarter covered by the report and the person submitting the report shall verify its accuracy under oath. Such verification shall be in the following form:

VERIFICATION UNDER OATH REGARDING ACCURACY OF SERVICE OBJECTIVES REPORT

I ,____________________________, state and attest that the attached Service Objectives Report is filed on behalf of _____________________________________ (Name of Public Utility as certificated) as required by North Carolina Utilities Commission Rule R9-8; that I have reviewed said Report and, in the exercise of due diligence, have made reasonable inquiry into the accuracy of the information provided therein; and that, to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, all of the information contained therein is accurate and true, no material information or fact has been knowingly omitted or misstated therein, and all of the information contained in said Report has been prepared and presented in accordance with all applicable North Carolina General Statutes, Commission Rules, and Commission Orders. ________________________________ Signature of Person Making Verification ________________________________

excluded, it should notate the change on the first subsequent report.

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Job Title ________________________________ Date Subscribed and sworn before me this the ___________ day of ________________ , 20___. ________________________________ Notary Public My Commission Expires: ___________ COMMISSION NOTE: A website reporting section will be added by the Commission at a later date after the Parties have negotiated all of the specific details. (e) Data Retention. Each local exchange company and CLP is required to retain complete records of the data collected and procedures used to calculate each service quality performance result for a minimum of one year from the date a report is filed with the Commission. Within this one-year period, local exchange companies and CLPs will provide, upon reasonable request by the Public Staff or Commission, breakdowns by wire center of their monthly service quality results for Measures 9 -14. If a company can show that it is unable to provide wire center level data, it may provide data at the most granular level possible, such as at the switch level. (f) Uniform Measurement Procedures. Each company shall adhere to the following uniform measurement procedures when calculating its service objectives:

Answertimes - General Considerations

Companies are expected to engineer the switching and interoffice facilities they use to provide operator “O”, directory assistance, business office services, and repair services to customers in order to minimize the possibility of lost, misdirected, or abandoned calls and to keep customer delays to a minimum, consistent with Commission requirements and industry standards. All facilities, including network, ports, and trunks, used for provision of these services shall be engineered to provide a maximum blocking probability of one percent (1%) or less. No call that has been directed to a live operator or service representative queue should be blocked from entering the queue or deflected (abandoned by company action without consent of the calling party) after it has entered a queue. Callers to operator “O”, directory assistance, business office, and repair service must be explicitly advised that they may press a “O” at any time during the call and have the call transferred to a live attendant if the respective menus exceed 45 seconds. All menu options, including any sub-menus, must be used in the calculation of the 45 seconds. Where an opt-out message is required, the option must be offered within the first 45 seconds of the initial menu. There is no requirement for offering the opt-out

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message when a menu, including sub-menus, is 45 seconds or less. Calls initially directed to a menu shall be transferred to a live attendant or a live attendant queue immediately if the customer presses a key to request the transfer or within 10 seconds if the customer fails to interact with the menu system following any prompt by pressing a key of a Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) telephone keypad or providing a voice response. Any company that obtains its operator “O” service, directory assistance, business office service, or repair service from another source shall identify the company that actually provides the service in its monthly report. The company that provides service to the customer is responsible for selecting a service provider that furnishes answertime service that satisfies Commission requirements. Companies must ensure that the monthly service quality statistics they report to the Commission reflect the performance they provide to North Carolina customers. Companies that submit performance results to the Commission reflecting regionwide or nationwide performance must be prepared to demonstrate to the Commission that the performance they provide to their North Carolina customers is equivalent to the performance they report on a regionwide or nationwide basis. Companies without automatic answertime testing may evaluate their answertime performance by manually placing test calls as long as they place a sufficient number of calls at appropriate times to ensure that a statistically valid and representative sample is obtained each month. These companies should notate on their reports that their answertimes are calculated through random sampling and should describe the methodology used, including the number of test calls completed per month and the times such calls were made. Operator “O” Answertime (Measure 5): Measured quantity: (a) The percentage of operator “O” calls from North Carolina each month that reach a live operator within 10 seconds; or (b) the average length of time it takes for calls from North Carolina to operator “O” telephone numbers to be answered each month. Measurement procedures:

(1) For calls routed directly to live operators (no initial menu): Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call arrives at the switch serving the operator service positions and continue until a live operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call. The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements. Companies may utilize a recorded branding announcement, not over 10 seconds in length, after the call has reached the switch. The timing for a branded call will begin at the end of the recorded announcement and continue until a live operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call. The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(2) For calls initially routed to an automated menu: Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call enters the queue leading

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to a live operator and continue until a live operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call. The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(3) For calls initially routed to an automated menu and handled without the intervention of a live operator: The answertime for these calls should be counted as one second.

The monthly performance figure reported to the Commission may be calculated as a % in x seconds or as an average speed of answer. (a) % in x seconds format: Operator “O” answertime=

100 x Total Operator “O” calls with answertimes of 10.0 seconds or less

Total calls routed to live “O” operators Companies shall exclude from the numerator and denominator of this calculation data for all calls in which the caller abandons the call within 10 seconds after it (1) arrives at the switch serving the operator service positions (for calls routed directly to a live operator) or (2) enters the queue leading to a live “O” operator (for calls initially routed to a menu). The operator “O” answertime calculation shall reflect all other “O” calls that are routed to live operators, including calls abandoned after 10 seconds. (b) Average speed of answer format: Operator “O” answertime =

Sum of queue holding times for all Operator “O” calls

Total Operator “O” calls Monthly reporting requirement: Companies shall report either the percentage of Operator “O” calls from North Carolina answered within 10 seconds by a live “O” Operator or their Operator “O” average speed of answer using the appropriate formula set forth above to the nearest tenth of a percent. Directory Assistance (DA) Answertime (Measure 6): Measured quantity: (a) The percentage of calls from North Carolina to all publicly available local DA telephone numbers each month that access a live DA operator within 10 seconds; or (b) the average length of time it takes for calls from North Carolina to all publicly available local DA telephone numbers to be answered each month. Measurement procedures:

(1) For calls routed directly to live DA operators (no initial menu): Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call arrives at the switch serving the DA operator positions and continue until a live DA operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call. The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time

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measurements. Companies may utilize a recorded branding announcement, not over 10 seconds in length, after the call has reached the switch. The timing for a branded call will begin at the end of the recorded announcement and continue until a live DA operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call. The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(2) For calls initially routed to an automated menu: Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call enters the queue leading to a live DA operator and continue until a live DA operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call. The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(3) For calls initially routed to an automated menu and handled without the intervention of a live DA operator: The answertime for these calls should be counted as one second.

The monthly performance figure reported to the Commission may be calculated as a % in x seconds or as an average speed of answer. (a) % in x seconds format: DA answertime=

100 x Total number of DA calls with answertimes of 10.0 seconds or less

Total calls made to DA and routed to live operators Companies shall exclude from the numerator and denominator of this calculation data for all calls in which the caller abandons the call within 10 seconds after it (1) arrives at the switch serving the live DA operator positions (for calls routed directly to a live DA operator) or (2) enters the queue leading to a live DA operator (for calls initially routed to a menu). The DA answertime calculation shall reflect all other DA calls that are routed to live DA operators, including calls abandoned after 10 seconds. (b) Average speed of answer format: DA answertime =

Sum of queue holding times for all DA calls

Total DA calls Monthly reporting requirement: Companies shall report either the percentage of DA calls from North Carolina answered within 10 seconds by a live DA operator or their DA average speed of answer using the appropriate formula set forth above to the nearest tenth of a percent. Business Office Answertime (Measure 7): Measured quantity: The average length of time it takes for calls from North Carolina to all publicly available company business office telephone numbers to be answered each month.

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Measurement procedures: (1) For calls routed directly to live business office representatives (no initial

menu): Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call arrives at the switch serving the business office representative positions and continue until a live business office representative prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call. The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(2) For calls initially routed to an automated menu and then routed to a live business office representative: Answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call enters the queue leading to a live business office representative and continue until a live business office representative prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call. The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(3) For calls initially routed to an automated menu and handled without the intervention of a live business office representative: The answertime for these calls should be counted as one second.

The monthly performance figure reported to the Commission shall be calculated as follows: Business office answertime =

Sum of queue holding times for all business office calls

Total business office calls Live business office representatives are expected to be available to handle incoming calls from North Carolina for a minimum of nine hours per day Monday through Friday, excluding company holidays. Monthly reporting requirement: Companies shall report their business office average speed of answer using the formula set forth above to the nearest tenth of a percent. Repair Service Answertime (Measure 8): Measured quantity: The average length of time it takes for calls from North Carolina to all publicly available company repair service telephone numbers to be answered each month. Measurement procedures:

(1) For calls routed directly to live repair service representatives (no initial menu): Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call arrives at the switch serving the repair service representative positions and continue until a live repair service representative prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call. The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

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(2) For calls initially routed to an automated menu and then routed to a live repair service representative: Answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call enters the queue leading to a live repair service representative and continue until a live repair service representative prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call. The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(3) For calls initially routed to an automated menu and handled without the intervention of a live repair service representative: The answertime for these calls should be counted as one second.

The monthly performance figure reported to the Commission shall be calculated as follows: Repair service answertime =

Sum of queue holding times for all repair service calls

Total repair service calls For carriers with 10,000 access lines or more, live repair service representatives are expected to be available to handle incoming calls from North Carolina customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Monthly reporting requirement: Companies shall report their repair service average speed of answer using the formula set forth above to the nearest tenth of a percent.

Trouble Reports, Service Orders, and Customer Appointments – General Considerations

A trouble report is defined as “any report from a subscriber or end user of telephone service to the telephone company indicating improper functioning or defective conditions with respect to the operation of telephone facilities over which the telephone company has control.” Such reports shall be date and time stamped immediately upon receipt and date and time stamped again immediately after the troubles have been cleared by company personnel. Note: Whenever Rule R9-8 requires a date and/or time stamp, the date and/or time stamp may be recorded electronically or otherwise so long as the date and/or time is saved for future reference. Service orders and new service installation appointment requests shall also be date and time stamped immediately upon receipt and again after the service order has been completed or the new service installation appointment has been met. Reported troubles that involve different access lines shall be regarded as separate troubles, even if the access lines terminate at the same premises, and/or the troubles result from a common cause, such as damaged cable or defective common equipment at a central office. Each company shall file with its initial quarterly report a detailed list of the specific categories of troubles, service orders, and appointments it considers excludable for

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purposes of reporting trouble reports, service ordering, or appointment statistics. This list should reflect exclusion of such categories as inside wiring, terminal equipment, voice mail, and long distance services. Each company shall notify the Commission promptly in writing of any changes to this list. Subsequent reports and duplicate reports of previously reported troubles that have not been cleared by the company shall not be included in either initial or repeat trouble report totals. Initial Customer Trouble Reports (Measure 9): Measured quantity: The number of initial troubles reported by telephone company subscribers in proportion to the number of total company access lines. Company measurement procedures: Companies should continuously track the initial trouble reports that are received by their trouble reporting center(s). The statistic reported to the Commission shall be computed by taking the count of initial troubles reported in a given area between 12:00 midnight at the beginning of the first day of the calendar month and 12:00 midnight at the end of the last day of the same month, dividing this figure by the total access lines in service in that same area at the end of the last day of the month, and multiplying the quotient by 100. Initial customer trouble reports =

100 x initial trouble reports received during month

Total access lines in service at the end of month Troubles associated with nonregulated equipment, products, or services, and subsequent reports of the same trouble that are made after the initial report has been received but before the company has cleared the trouble condition should be excluded from the numerator of this formula. Companies shall identify in their quarterly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for initial trouble reporting purposes. Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown. In the event a company systematically excludes the initial troubles reported by a class or classes of customers (for example, large business customers) from the troubles counted in the numerator of this calculation, the company shall also exclude the access lines for the same class(es) of customers from the total access lines figure appearing in the denominator. The company shall explain in its quarterly service quality report any deviation between the access line count used for monthly reporting of initial troubles per 100 access lines and the total access line count which it furnishes each month in its access line report. Reporting requirement: All companies shall file statistics on initial customer trouble reports per 100 total access lines. Figures shall be reported to the nearest hundredth of a percent. Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina

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service area and each exchange. If the monthly figure for any exchange exceeds 7.125 per 100 access lines, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective. Repeat Reports (Measure 10): Measured quantity: The number of repeat troubles reported by telephone company subscribers in proportion to the number of company access lines. Company measurement procedures: Companies should continuously track the repeat trouble reports that are reported to their trouble reporting center(s). A repeat trouble is a trouble reported on an access line for which another trouble or troubles has been reported within the preceding 30 days and subsequently cleared. The statistic reported to the Commission shall be computed by taking the count of repeat troubles reported in a given area between 12:00 midnight at the beginning of the first day of the calendar month and 12:00 midnight at the end of the last day of the same month, dividing this figure by the total access lines in service in that same area at the end of the last day of the month, and multiplying the quotient by 100. Repeat customer trouble reports = 100 x repeat trouble reports received during month Total access lines in service at end of month Repeat troubles associated with nonregulated equipment, products, or services shall be excluded from the count appearing in the numerator of this formula. Companies shall identify in their quarterly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for repeat trouble reporting purposes. Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown. In the event that a company systematically excludes the repeat troubles reported by a class or classes of customers (for example, large business customers) from the troubles counted in the numerator of this calculation, the company shall also exclude the access lines for the same class(es) of customers from the total access lines figure appearing in the denominator. The company shall explain in its quarterly service quality report any deviation between the access line count used for monthly reporting of repeat troubles per 100 access lines and the total access line count which it furnishes each month in its access line report. Monthly reporting requirement: All companies shall file statistics on repeat customer trouble reports per 100 access lines. Figures shall be reported to the nearest hundredth of a percent. Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and for each exchange. If the monthly figure for any exchange exceeds 1.5 per 100 access lines, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective.

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Out-of-Service Troubles Cleared Within 24 Hours (Measure 11): Measured quantity: The percentage of total out-of-service troubles that are cleared within 24 hours during the reporting month. Company measurement procedures: Companies should continuously track the out-of-service troubles (troubles involving inability to make outgoing calls or receive incoming calls, or line impairments so severe that they render voice communication impossible) that are reported by company subscribers and end users. Each out-of-service trouble report should be date and time stamped immediately upon receipt and date and time stamped immediately after the trouble condition is cleared. The time taken to clear the trouble is the difference between these two times. To obtain the reported statistic, the company shall count the number of out-of-service troubles that was cleared during the calendar month and within 24 hours of their receipt, divide this figure by the total number of out-of-service trouble reports cleared during the calendar month, and then multiply by 100 to obtain the percentage cleared within 24 hours: Out-of-service troubles cleared within 24 hours = 100 x total out-of-service troubles cleared within 24 hours during month Total out-of-service troubles cleared during month Troubles associated with nonregulated equipment, products, or services and troubles that do not involve out-of-service conditions shall be excluded from the troubles counted in the numerator and denominator of this formula. Companies shall identify in their monthly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for out-of-service trouble reporting purposes. Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown. Troubles in which the customer specifically requested an appointment beyond 24 hours shall be excluded from the troubles counted in the numerator and denominator of this formula. Monthly reporting requirement: All companies shall file statistics on out-of-service troubles cleared within 24 hours of receipt, reported to the nearest tenth of a percent. Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and for each exchange. If the monthly figure for any exchange is below 80%, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective. Regular Service Orders Completed Within 5 Working Days (Measure 12): Measured quantity: The percentage of regular service orders that are completed during any calendar month within five working days of receipt by the company. Company measurement procedures: Companies should continuously track the receipt and completion dates and times of all regular service orders (service orders placed by residential customers and by business customers with five or fewer access lines). Each regular service order should be date and time stamped immediately upon receipt by the

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company and date and time stamped immediately after the order has been completed. The reported statistic shall be calculated as follows: Regular service orders completed within 5 working days = 100 x regular service orders completed during month within 5 working days of receipt

Total regular service orders completed during month

For purposes of this calculation, “working days” shall be considered to be all days except Saturdays, Sundays, New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day, provided these are observed as paid company holidays. Orders for nonregulated equipment, products, or services shall be excluded from both the numerator and denominator of this formula. Companies shall identify in their quarterly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for regular service order reporting purposes. Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown. Orders wherein a customer specifically requests an appointment beyond 5 days and/or the delay was specifically and solely caused by the customer should be excluded from both the numerator and denominator of this formula. Monthly reporting requirement: All companies shall report the percentage of regular service orders completed during the calendar month within five working days of receipt by the company. Figures shall be reported to the nearest tenth of a percent. Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and for each exchange. If the monthly figure for any exchange is below 80%, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective. New Service Installation Appointments Not Met for Company Reasons (Measure 13): Measured quantity: The percentage of new service installation appointments that are scheduled to be completed during the calendar month but are missed due to company reasons. Company measurement procedures: Companies shall maintain a record of the new service installation appointments that are scheduled to be completed during each calendar month. The company shall track the scheduled dates and times for these appointments and the actual completion dates and times and, for those appointments that are not kept, shall maintain a detailed record of the reason(s) for failure to keep them. The percentage of new service installation appointments missed during the calendar month due to company reasons shall be calculated as follows: New service installation appointments not met for company reasons = 100 x new service installation appointments not met because of company reasons

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New service installation appointments scheduled to be met Any new service installation appointment missed due to customer actions shall be excluded from the numerator of this formula. Appointments associated with installation or moving of, or changes or repairs to, nonregulated equipment, products, or services shall be excluded from the numerator and denominator of this formula. Companies shall identify in their quarterly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for customer appointments reporting purposes. Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown. Companies, at a minimum, shall offer customers scheduling premises appointments the opportunity to select from a set of two or more four-hour appointment “windows” that will be made available for each day that appointments are being scheduled. An appointment will be considered “missed” if the company representative responsible for performing the premises work fails to arrive at the premises and begin work within the appointment window, or if the representative fails to complete the requested work by 12:00 midnight at the end of the appointment date. Monthly reporting requirement: Companies shall file the percentage of total new service installation appointments not met during the month for company reasons to the nearest tenth of a percent. Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and for each exchange. If the monthly figure for any exchange exceeds 7.5%, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective. New Service Held Orders Not Completed Within 30 Days (Measure 14): Measured quantity: The number of new access line orders that, at any time during the calendar month, have been held for over 30 calendar days following receipt, in proportion to the total company access lines in service. Company measurement procedures: Companies shall date and time stamp each new service order immediately upon receipt and shall identify and count all orders during the calendar month that have not been completed within 30 days from the date and time they were received. Each such order shall be counted as a new service held order not completed within 30 days. The total number of new service held orders not completed within 30 days shall be reported to the Commission as a percentage of total company access lines as of midnight at the end of the last day of the month: New service held orders not completed within 30 days = 100 x new service orders not completed within 30 days at any time during month

Total access lines in service at the end of month

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Delays caused by the customer that prevent the company from completing an order within 30 days of receipt shall be excluded from the numerator of this formula. Further, orders with customer-requested appointments beyond 30 days shall be excluded from the numerator of this formula. New service orders for nonregulated equipment, products, or services shall be excluded from the numerator of this formula. Companies shall identify in their monthly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for new service held order reporting purposes. Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown. In the event a company systematically excludes the new service held orders for a class or classes of customers (for example, large business customers) from the held orders counted in the numerator of this calculation, the company shall also exclude the access lines for the same class(es) of customers from the total access lines figure appearing in the denominator. The company shall explain in its quarterly service quality report any deviation between the access line count used for monthly reporting of held orders and the total access line count which it furnishes each month in its access line report. Monthly reporting requirement: Companies shall report the percentage of new service held orders not completed within 30 days, to the nearest hundredth of a percent. Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and for each exchange. If the monthly figure for any exchange is above 0.15% of total access lines, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective. (g) Directory Assistance Listing Updates. Carriers must update their DA customer listings in any directory database the company maintains and/or controls within 48 hours of a service order resulting in a new or changed listing, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays or within 48 hours excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays of either notification of such a new or changed listing or receipt of a completed service order from another carrier or DA provider. Carriers that provide DA to their customers from a third party should select a provider that updates new or changed listings within 48 hours of notification; these carriers must provide updated information to the third party provider within 24 hours of receipt. (h) Directory Assistance Refunds. Carriers are required to provide DA refunds, upon request, for an incorrect listing provided to a DA customer. Carriers are further required to provide annual notification to customers either by bill message, direct mail, or email (when email is affirmatively selected by the customer) informing them of the uniform DA refund policy and to publish the uniform DA policy permanently in the directory assistance section of the local telephone directory. (NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99, 12/20/88; 09/20/00; 11/29/00; 03/22/01; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 128, 11/30/01; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99, 09/11/02; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99 and P-100, Sub 99a, 06/04/04; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99 and P-100, Sub 99a, 06/11/04; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99, 09/13/05; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99, 07/06/09; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 139 & P-100, Sub 99, 05/13/14.)

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Rule R9-9. FINANCIAL AND OPERATING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR TELEPHONE COMPANIES.

(A) All local exchange companies except for these under price plans, shall file the following financial and operating information with the Public Staff and Commission Staff: (1) Total Company Balance Sheet — Current year and prior year (2) Total Company Income Statement — Current year and prior year (2-1) North Carolina Operations Income Statement — Current year and prior

year (3) Calculation of Intrastate Rate Base (4) Calculation of Intrastate Net Operating Income for Return (5) Analysis of Telecommunications Plan in Service — North Carolina

operations (6) Analysis of Depreciation Reserve — North Carolina operations (7) Analysis of Salaries and Wages — North Carolina operations (8) Long-term Debt Interest Charges — Total Company (9) Preferred Stock Issuances and Dividends — Total Company (10) Miscellaneous Information on Access Lines, Number of Employees,

Common and Preferred Stock Dividends, and Toll Settlements (B) All company-generated schedules or comparable substitutes for those schedules listed above which are prepared on a monthly basis shall be filed with the Commission on a monthly basis. The remainder of the schedules shall be filed on a quarterly basis. (C) These statements shall be filed 45 days after the last day of each month unless unusual circumstances dictate that additional time is needed, whereupon the telephone company may request and be granted up to an additional 15 days to complete the statements. The telephone companies shall file these statements with the North Carolina Utilities Commission — Operations Division and the Public Staff — Accounting Division. (NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 103, 11/29/88; 1/11/89; 4/15/93; 4/21/95; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 72b, 01/02/04.)